Archaeology in Oceania最新文献

An extensive body of engraved rock art on the Great Papuan Plateau is documented here for the first time, along with the first dates for occupation. Consisting largely of deeply abraded or pecked barred ovals and cupules, the rock art of this region does not fit comfortably into any regional models for rock art previously described. It does, however, exhibit some similarity to art in regions to the east and the west of the plateau. Subject to further archaeological testing, we present a number of exploratory hypotheses with which to explain the presence of the engravings; as part of the ethnographic and contemporary Kasua's cultural suite; as part of a relatively recent (late Holocene) migration of peoples from the Gulf to the plateau; or as part of an earlier movement of people from the west, possibly as part of the movement of people into the Sahul continent in the Late Pleistocene. We conclude that the Great Papuan Plateau is not a late and marginally occupied ‘backwater’ but rather part of a possible corridor of human movement across northern Sahul and a region that could allow us to better understand modern humans as they reached the Sahul continent.

The Indonesian island of Sulawesi harbours numerous early rock paintings of the endemic Sulawesi warty pig (Sus celebensis). Several S. celebensis images, including one dated to at least 45,500 years ago (ka), portray these suids with an anatomical character not observed in the living species: a pair of teat-like protuberances in the neck area. This feature seems to be most consistent morphologically with neck “wattles”, cutaneous appendages only manifested in modern domestic swine (Sus scrofa) and some other domesticated ungulates (e.g. goats). The notion that the trait portrayed by the Late Pleistocene artists is a domestication character is clearly contentious. We therefore consider: (1) whether we have misidentified the trait – a common problem in rock art analysis; (2) whether wattles are a genuine domestication trait; and (3) if so, whether the notion that Pleistocene people domesticated S. celebensis is plausible. A clear resolution to all of these problems evades us; however, our investigation of this anomaly in the ancient rock art poses important questions about the nature and complexity of early human–pig relations in this island.

This paper describes a rock engraving site in Mithaka Country in the Channel Country, southwest Queensland, where the majority of the motifs consist of crescents or variations on crescents. This is the first rock art site to be recorded in Mithaka Country, which is in a part of Australia's sandy deserts where rock art is uncommon.

Gilparrka Almira is placed within a broader social context by exploring its possible cultural connections with other sites and regions. Regional comparisons of the main motif type found that proportions decreased in all directions away from the site. Possible meanings for crescent imagery are then examined from ethnohistorical sources, indicating that crescent motifs may bear a range of “discontinuous” meanings that can be used in different contexts. It is suggested that crescent motifs may have moved/diffused across vast areas of the continent, following the north-south Lake Eyre Basin trade network, with Mithaka Country lying at its approximate centre, and other (east-west) trade routes, along the Dreaming tracks with which the trade routes are frequently associated. Motifs with “discontinuous” meaning ranges, like crescents, would have been particularly suitable for use in this scenario because of their ability to be readily incorporated into different social contexts.

We review current zooarchaeological practice in Australia, identifying major research themes and key methodological gaps where opportunities exist for the development of Australian zooarchaeology as a discipline. We demonstrate that marsupial remains form a significant component of Australian zooarchaeological assemblages, yet high resolution taxonomic identification of these remains continues to prove challenging, owing to a combination of high species diversity and few resources which provide diagnostic criteria for discriminating morphologically similar, but ecologically variable taxa. The lack of robust protocols for discriminating marsupial taxa significantly impacts our ability to effectively integrate zooarchaeological data into broader narratives of Aboriginal colonisation, resilience and adaptation across Australia. Publication of identification protocols would help refine and standardise diagnostic criteria used between analysts, improve the methodological transparency of zooarchaeological analysis and provide resources for the training of a new generation of specialists. A range of opportunities currently exist, utilising qualitative and quantitative techniques, to significantly contribute towards the methodological robustness of zooarchaeological practice in Australia.